Guns N' Roses
by Kokuja-Fafnir
Summary: An assassin, a man who lost everything, works for the infamous crime lord Zeref Dragnologia, head of the Apocalypse Order. Sadistic, cynical, cruel and mentally unstable, how will this man continue onward while his sins are starting to pile up. Hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

**_So, this has plagued me for some time now. After reading many crime novels and watching thrillers, my imagination screamed to make a crime story about FT because there are very few story with this genre. Okay, let's see how this will turn out._**

* * *

**_I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does. I do own the idea of this story... I think..._**

* * *

_**Chapter 1: That fool with rose-colored hair.**_

"I hate snow." A man muttered to himself while he smoked a cigarette, walking through the streets of Arcadia, the capital of Iceberg, during late afternoon. A white, scaly scarf was wrapped neatly around his neck protecting him from the cold winds that came along with Father Frost. He wore a closed black, fur-collared long coat that ended to his knees, black jeans held up by a brown belt with the head of a dragon as a buckle while chains were decorating his jeans around the edges. His pants were tucked in a pair of brown leather boots that reached slighty below his knees. A pair of black gloves with a white morning star on the back of them with the inscriptions of 'God is with us' around the edges were covering his hands while a black eye-patch was stitched on his right-eye, finishing his badass look. The man's left eye was as dark as the night, giving a somewhat gloomy glint off. His hair, however, was painted with the most unusual and most cheery color a person could imagine.

Pink...

Yep, that's right, this man has rosy-colored hair. Talking about having unique taste...

"I swear, if those goddamn ice-licking bastards continue staring at my hair, I'll shove a bullet up in their assholes..." The pinkette muttered darkly to himself as he spotted some of the Icebergians glance weirdly or snicker at him whenever they noticed his hair. Shaking his head to ignore them, the guy continued walking towards his destination.

Meet Natsu R. Dragneel a.k.a _'Dead Eye' Dragneel._

22 years old, blood type AB, 1.95 metres high with a well-built posture. A normal adolescent, right?

Not exactly...

You see, a normal guy his age with go to college, go out with friends and get himself drunk until he can't even count properly, get laid with a girl occasionally, work in a bar or whatever people work at at that age etc... A normal person would have a life, like that, yes, but this guy isn't normal.

"Hmph, the bastard better hurry up in sending my next target to kill."

This guy's a killer. Well, not exactly killer, he's an assassin or hitman if you would call it in modern terms. Not only a hitman, no, this guy takes his job very seriously. Responsible for the death of the Chairman of the United States of Pergrande, Gulan Doma, this man is known as the most notorious assassin of Earthland, a title the rosy-haired man holds with pride. Not that anybody recognized him, only other crime organizations. Otherwise, Rune Knight agents would already have his head on a dinner plate and the pinkette didn't want to give that satisfaction to those white-clad bastards yet.

The guy's phone suddenly vibrated, making him rummage through the inside pocket of his coat. He grabbed his phone and glanced at the name that was flashing on the screen.

_'Blond-haired bastard' _

The guy sighed before tapping on _'pick up' _as he brought his phone to his ear.

"What took you so goddamn long, Sting?" The pink-haired guy answered in annoyance, his patience wearing thin as he answered the man called Sting. Natsu could faintly discern a scoff at the other end before he heard Sting clear his throat.

_"Is that how you greet your baby-brother, Natsu? You're so cold..."_ Sting retorted in mock hurt, making Natsu scowl at Sting's antics. The guy was practically his younger brother, that much was true. They're both members of the same order, were raised by the big boss himself and the resemblance between them is just sickening. Sting, however, was the most annoying bastard Natsu ever met in his life. Hell, even Gray admitted it that he couldn't get on Natsu's nerve as much as Sting and that said something.

"Baby-brother, my ass. Just tell who I'm supposed to kill. The cold here in Iceberg is getting on my nerves."

_"Tsk, fine, seeing that the place is getting to you, I'll just cut to the chase then." _Natsu nodded to himself at hearing that. He was glad that sometimes Sting could shut his mouth for a moment.

_"The info about your target should come right... about... now." _Natsu brought his phone in front of his face and noticed a small 'envelope' icon in the corner of his phone's screen. The pinkette then brought his phone back to his ear.

"Thanks, Sting. That's all I needed, you'll hear from me after the job is done."

_"Heheh, I think you'll love this one..."_ The rose-haired man raised his eyebrow at this.

"Why's that?"

_"Just open it. You'll see..." _With that statement hanging, Sting cut off the connection, leaving a confused Natsu.

_'Enigmatic bastard.' _The pinkette thought as he continued walking through the city. He slowly reached the 'Black Market' of Arcadia as he spotted several stalls standing in the shadows selling God-knows kind of things; from weapons to stolen jewelry, everything could be bought he hear. Hell, even slaves could be found here. The shouts of merchants selling their goods to ignorant tourists, the sounds of footsteps connecting with the ground, dogs barking at whatever catches their attention, it was all maddening to Natsu as the man increased his pace.

_"Sometimes, I hate it to be a Modified-Human." _the pink-haired hitman thought as he took his cigarette out of his mouth before puffing out a cloud of smoke. Sighing in content, he brought it back to his mouth. The guy really loved his cigarettes, it was his way of putting his mind at ease. With so much going through his head, a simple attachment to cigarettes was nothing special.

The guy was so deep in thought that he didn't even notice the group of men standing in front of him. He collided with one of them, making him stumble back slightly and spit out his cigarette while the man in front of him almost fell over. The aforementioned guy turned around with an irritated look, glaring at the rosy-haired man.

"Watch where you're walking, fuc-!" The man didn't even had the time to finish his sentence as he felt the barrel of a gun pressed against his mandible.

"You... you made me spit out my last, cola-flavored cigarette. Unforgivable..." Natsu muttered dangerously in a low-pitched voice, his eye shadowed by his pink locks. Natsu loved, no, adored his cigarettes, especially his cola-flavored ones. This ignorant bastard just committed the worst kind of offense in '3938 ways to piss off Natsu', written and published by yours truly... Don't touch the guy's cigarettes. Ever.

The man stiffened as he felt the cold metal press harder against him. His eyes widened as he recognized the gun, making him start to sweat profusely in nervousness.

_"An AMI Mark MMXII Sky Dragon! Those are illegal!?" _

"That's right, shit for brains. An AMI Mark MMXIII Sky Dragon. This baby is called the 'Grandine'. Quite the hand cannon, no? How I got it?" A dark smile crept its way to Natsu's face as he lifted his head, locking eyes with the fear-stricken man," Don't ask... Now, what to do with you? I'll give you three options, my friend..." The pinkette first stuck out his pinkie "One; we'll play 'tag', I'm it and I have the right to use my guns." Natsu then stuck out his ring-finger, "Two; we'll play 'hide and seek' and I'm gonna hunt you down like a bloodthirsty motherfucking vampire on a virgin girl or..." Lastly, the rosy-haired guy stretched out his middle-finger while his eyes were once again shadowed by his bangs. This made the man's nervousness increase ten-fold as he awaited the last option, dreading that it would put the other two to shame in terms of madness.

"You'll buy me a new pack of cigarettes!" Natsu exclaimed enthusiastically, his face flashing a bright, toothy grin. The guy sweatdropped heavily at Natsu's last option, slightly unnerved about the fact that this guy just threatened his life, like he wasn't worth a damn with the darkest smile he ever saw and the next second flashed him a childish grin. The man regained his composure, sweeping the sweat off of his forehead before looking at Natsu.

"I-I think I'll go with option three."

"Too bad, because we're out of option three..." Before the man knew it, Natsu slammed the back of his handgun into his forehead, making him stagger backwards in pain and shock. The guy's friends were quickly to their comrade's side as they ran up to his stumbling form before someone caught him.

"Boris, are you alright!?"

One of the guys looked up and glared heatedly at Natsu. He stood up and made a mad-dash for it as he cocked his right fist back.

"You basta-" A bullet flew right past the man's face, making him stop immediately in his sentence as it slightly grazed his face, leaving a small wound as blood trickled down from it. The guy reached to his face, placing his hand on the graze while breathing out a hiss as he touched it.

Natsu's left arm stood outstretched while he held his 'Grandine' in his hand, smoke emitting out of the barrel.

"Now, now, don't do something irrational. We don't want people to get hurt, right?" The pinkette chimed sagely, shaking with his hand that was holding his gun. Natsu then placed his 'Grandine' back in its holster. He walked up to the man that he knocked back with his gun before lifting him up by the collar, earning shouts of protests from the man's friends. Ignoring them, he brought the man close to his face, looking at him with an arrogant smirk.

"You're lucky I haven't pumped you full with lead, though everything has a price." Natsu released the man from his grip, making him fall down with a loud 'thud'. Scratching the back of his head, Natsu glanced at them with a troubled face.

'I'm kinda lost here. If you want to life on, then tell me where I can find this place called '**Alberona's Drinking Barrel' **

The guys in front of the pinkette were at a loss, sweatdropping at Natsu's sudden change in behavior. This man with a goddamn eye-patch and pink hair was the weirdest fool they ever came across. Seconds ago, he aimed a gun point-blank at someone, not even troubled by it, then he shot someone while the bullet only grazed the guy's cheek, indicating that his accuracy was beyond humane, making it look like it was child's play and lastly, as a compromise in order not to get killed by him, the guy asks where this bar lies with a genuine troubled face. Only one thought ran through their heads as they looked onwards at the pinkette.

_"What. The. Fuck. Is. This guy's. PROBLEM!" _The strangest fool, yes, but this fool carries a hand cannon that's not even suited for normal gun users. Don't mess around with those types...

One of the guys coughed in his fist, gaining the attention of the rose-haired gun user.

"W-well, I know where it is, thou-" His voice was muffled as Natsu took him by the collar before walking away like he didn't just lift up a fully grown man with a weigth of probably 90 kilo or above with just one arm. The rest were sporting stunned expressions on their faces, looking slowly at one another before shaking their heads and running in the direction Natsu just walked to.

_"Alberona, eeh? Talking about meeting an old_ _acquaintance..."_

* * *

_**Whooooopie, I've actually finished this! Seriously, I was quite looking forward to write this. A crime fic? Hell yeah! With loads of blood? Hell yeah! With a plot that'll blow you away? Hell yeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaah! (I think...) *nods in satisfaction* **_

_**Writing about a magical world never was my typo, I'm more into these kind of things... With them guns and stuff, with them conspiracy plots and stuff, with them unnecessary explosions and stuff. **_

_**Okay, onwards with this, as you can see, there aren't many types of fics like these... good ones anyway... so I decided to make my own and I'm fairly satisfied that this is a good prologue, no?**_

_**Okay, now, let's continue on something regarding 'pairings'. Now who could be a good choice for a sadistic, cynical, badass, mentally unstable Natsu? I swear to God, if someone comes with something like **_**'Lucy, because she will bring light to his world'**_** , I'll gut you like a fish... On a side note, I'm seriously leaning towards Knightwalker. Why? Because Erza is a wuss... And Knightwalker is ten times more awesome... and I think she'll compliment Natsu's demented side in this story, right? **_

_**Now, you'll probably wonder ' Where's Knightwalker!?' Calm down, she'll appear in the second chapter and God how I have planned things out for these two...**_

_**Alright, thanks for reading and don't forget to review!**_

_**Your humble serpent.**_

_**Fafnir hissing out)**_


	2. Chapter 2

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, that honor goes to Hiro Mashima. I do own the idea of this story._**

* * *

_**Chapter 2: Starting to know the other.**_

"Uhm... How long are you gonna drag me around? I-I can perfectly walk on my ow- WOAH!" At that exact moment, the pinkette loosened his grip on the guy's collar, making him fall down on the hard, cold ground while Natsu didn't even look back to see if he was alright.

"If you want to walk on your own, be my guest, though, hurry up, I don't have all day..." Grumbled Natsu impatiently as his hand searched something through his pocket. He took a pack of cigarettes out of his left-breast pocket before opening it and picking out own of them. He sighed disappointingly as he noticed that he was indeed out of cola-flavored cigarettes. Scowling in annoyance, the pink-haired hitman took an apple-flavored cigarette in his mouth while searching inside his pockets for his lighter. A red lighter appeared in Natsu's hand later. He brought his lighter to his mouth, igniting his cigarette with it. His lighter back in his pocket, the pinkette grabbed his addiction out of his mouth with two of his fingers before puffing out a cloud of smoke in content. Natsu looked behind his shoulder and glanced at the guys who were walking sluggishly behind him, their faces showing their discomfort.

"Are we there yet? We're walking for almost fifteen minutes now."

Coming to a halt, the guys looked to one another. They glanced to their friend who knew the directions and their eyes were looking pleadingly at him, hoping that it wasn't far anymore.

"W-well, if you keep walking this way, you'll eventually come across a sign which reads **'Alberona's Drinking Barrel'**." Nodding, the pinkette continue walking in that direction while he waved the men behind him away.

"It was fun guys. You can go now..." Breathing out a sigh of relief, the guys left the scene in a hurry, not wanting to have anything to do with a lunatic like him. Chuckling to himself, the pinkette put his hands inside his pockets while smoking, walking peacefully through the place. Natsu noticed that the sky started to darken while more snowflakes fell from the sky. The pinkette frowned and increased his pace slightly as his coat started to gather more and more snow. Exiting the Black Market District, the rose-haired man glanced in every direction, trying to catch a glimpse of his destination. After walking for ten minutes, the pinkette grew tired of this and decided to ask the people who were passing him by. He spotted a lone man walking in his way, a phone in his hand as he tapped away on it. Without so much as a warning, the pink-haired guy grabbed the unsuspecting man by the collar, startling him greatly with his action as he dropped his phone. Natsu took a moment to look at him, his face inches away from the stranger that he just randomly picked out.

"You have five seconds to answer my question. Where is **'Alberona's Drinking Barrel?'**" The rosy-haired assassin practically growled, making the poor man tremble in complete fear.

"I-I ahh- a-hh d-don't kno-w..." Clicking with his tongue, Natsu loosened his grip on the man's collar.

"Look pal, I'm in no fucking mood to play 'guess what I said' with you, just tell me where this place is" No answer...

_"Why does everybody wants to get on my goddamn nerve these days..." _With a swift swing, Natsu head butted the guy hard on his forehead, making the man fall backwards and hit ground hard as a large bump started to become visible on the man's forehead. Huffing in annoyance, the pinkette looked around for the next person to ask. His eyes fell on two heavily built men with biker's outfits; they both were wearing black caps, black sunglasses and their faces were covered with shaggy beards. Wearing black-leather jackets with a skull on the back, white tanks with some dirt spots on it, green pants with camouflage patterns and brown army boots, they looked like the typical biker you would find around the bars during nights. Nodding to himself, the pink-haired hitman approached the two, only this time he would use a different way to gain what he wanted.

"You two. Got a moment?" The two guys glanced at Natsu and looked at him through their sunglasses.

"What do you want, kid?" Sporting a tick mark, the pinkette became agitated because of that remark. With a deep sigh, the hitman swallowed the urge to turn them into swiss cheese and grabbed two cigarettes out of his right breast-pocket before offering them to the two bikers. They glanced to each other quickly before returning their gaze on the pinkette, accepting Natsu's little gift as they brought it to their mouths. The rose-haired man grabbed his lighter and threw it in their way. One of the two caught it in his hand and ignited his cigarette before giving the lighter to his friend who did the same.

"You're a smart kid, how can we help?" Natsu mentally patted himself, proud that he gained what he wanted without violence.

_"Ultear was right, using my brains for once actually gains me something." _The pinkette mused. Natsu took a small map out of his pocket before showing it to them. He then asked where the bar was located that he was looking for. The guys traced their fingers over some streets, pointing out how to get to that place. They told Natsu that the place couldn't be found on normal maps as the alcohol they served there was... unique. Further, the place was renowned as the most violent bar of Arcadia. The Arcadian municipality more than once ordered the closure of the bar, deeming it a place too violent for people. The owner, to be honest, couldn't care less about that and did what every person would do if they didn't give a damn.

Middle-finger for the win...

After a couple of minutes of disagreements between the two bikers which way the better was to follow, Natsu grew tired of it and motioned them to stop. He thanked them as he folded his map before putting it back inside his pocket and walked away from the place with a cigarette in his mouth, his mind focused on his main goal.

_"So, I'm nearly there. Better start preparing things then."_

The pinkette grabbed his phone and searched through his contact list for a moment. His eyes eventually fell on a name and it made him smirk slightly as he tapped on it before bringing his phone to his ear.

* * *

Somewhere else, in the Fiorian Federation, a man looked through a large stained-glass window at the forests of Crocus City, sitting comfortably in a large brown-leather chair as his hands were interlaced before his chest, his elbows resting on the armchairs. The man had long pitch-black hair that reached slightly above his shoulders with two bangs down his face while one tuft of hair covered the middle side of his forehead. Wearing an expensive designed black tuxedo with a collared crimson undershirt, a silver tie and matching black trousers and leather shoes, the man radiated wealth and power. This man's name is Zeref Dragnologia, CEO of Acnologia Inc. and head of the Apocalypse Order. An enigmatic man, not much is known about him as only the most important people within the organization know, to some degree, the leader of the world's most powerful organized crime empire.

Zeref turned around in his chair, facing his expensive ebony wooden desk as he grabbed a glass of water that stood on the table, bringing it to his mouth before taking a sip. He carefully placed it back on the table before glancing at the person standing in front of him.

"So, you finally made it here to Castle Dragnologia, Miss Erza Scarlet Knightwalker. Please, take a seat." The raven-haired man began slowly, flashing a charming and polite smile to the woman standing before him as he gestured to the chair opposite of him. The woman had long, elegant, wavy scarlet-colored hair tide in a loose knot as one side covered her right eye while two bangs of hair were falling down her face. She wore a long-sleeved crimson-colored blouse with the first two buttons open, revealing a healthy amount of cleavage with a sleeveless black vest over it that stopped below her sizable chest, black skin-tight jeans with a red belt holding it up and black high-heeled boots that reached to her shins.

The scarlet-haired woman had her arms crossed below her chest as she looked at the dark-haired man, her face unreadable as no emotions leaked away from her face.

"Thank you for the offer, but I'd rather stand."

The black-haired man nodded at her, his smile still plastered on his face. Zeref opened his desk and grabbed some documents before he laid them on top of the table. He closed his desk and locked its content with the key before putting it inside his jacket's pocket. Zeref's gaze fell back on that of Erza, motioning to her to take some documents to which she nodded before taking a sheet of paper in her hand.

"As you already know, I re-stationed you from Magnolia City to here so we could talk about your future jobs, here in Crocus."

"Yes, I'm informed about that. It will be an honor to work directly from HQ." The red-haired woman voiced as she slightly bowed her head before Zeref. Erza then lifted her head and remained emotionless in her way of speaking as she asked the raven-haired crime lord a question that has troubled her for quite some time. "I also heard that I'll be having a partner from now on. Could you please shine more light on that?" Asked Erza politely, though, some of her displeasure a bit audible in her voice. She always did her jobs solo, thinking that having a partner would only be a bother rather than a help. Erza once had one, a girl, but she proved to be unsuited for these types of jobs. How? She died... by the red-haired beauty's hands no less. The girl proved to be a spy from Zentopia and before any harm could be done, the red-head found out and silenced her before the spy could do so much as lift her finger. For this, she gained a lot of respect within the Order as she saved them from being exposed to the world which would lead to Zeref's public downfall if he was exposed which in its turn would cause a chain reaction that eventually wouldn't pack out good for the Apocalypse Order.

Zeref chuckled lightly, remembering why Erza felt a bit of resentment for being partnered with someone.

"Don't worry about that this time, the person you're paired with is one of the finest I can offer. He'll be back in one week to be exact. I think you and he will get along quite well with each other."The scarlet-head furrowed her red eyebrows as she took a glance on the sheet in her hand, scanning through the information she was handed to.

"This document says little to almost nothing about the person I'm gonna be teamed with, why's that?"

Smirking, the black-haired crime lord stared at the woman in front of him with thoughtful eyes.

"You really want to know about the guy?" The scarlet-haired beauty mentally kicked Zeref in the face for that stupid question, of course she wanted to know something regarding her future 'partner'. Why would the man be so mysterious about it? Shaking the thought out of her mind, Erza refocused her attention back on the raven-haired man sitting before her.

"Well, seeing as I'm going to work together with said person, yes, I would like to know more about him." Erza pointed out, quite pleased with her clever remark. Zeref slowly stood up from his chair as he crossed his arms behind his back while facing the window, his face sporting a small smile as thought about the man who they were talking about.

"His name... is Natsu Rose Dragneel, one of my top four assassins." Erza's eyes widened in disbelief, hearing the name 'Dragneel' ringing some bells inside her head.

"Dead-Eye..." The scarlet-haired woman muttered which Zeref was able to hear.

"Aye, Dead-Eye Dragneel, the Rose Ace of Hearts of the Apocalypse Order, one of the four strongest assassins the Order has. Infamous for various murders on highly profiled persons, his biggest achievement is his hit on the Chairman of the US of Pergrande. Ironic, Gulan once said that he couldn't be killed by criminals and what happened to him? Shot through the heart..." The amount of pride was audible in Zeref's voice as he continued speaking about Natsu, Erza noticed. For a man like Zeref Dragnologia to talk so high about a person must mean that said person is a highly respected man. The alias 'Dead-Eye' is renowned throughout the underworld as people would mostly utter it in complete fear. The big fishes were always on their guard when it came to Zeref as the dark-haired man was probably the most powerful of all the crime lords in Earthland thanks to his large company and wealth in combination with his hitmen who are working for him. The red-head also noticed that Zeref said that this Natsu Rose Dragneel was ONE of his top assassins, not his top, which meant that there were three others who were at least as good as the infamous 'Dead-Eye'.

The scarlet-haired woman was brought out of her musings as she heard the head of the Order talk again, this time his voice devoid of any kind of emotion.

"Well, since Natsu isn't here for coming week, I'd recommend you to explore the place or unpack your stuff. Your things are brought to a room in the upper levels of the castle. A maid will bring you there shortly." The black-haired man clapped with his hands and the doors leading outside opened almost immediately. A woman with the typical maid outfit walked in before giving a respectful bow to Zeref. She raised her head and her gaze landed on Erza for a moment before she returned her eyes to the owner of the castle.

"You called for me, my lord?"

"Indeed, I did. Show Miss Knightwalker her room. If I'm correct, her stuff should be already there." The maid give another bow before she turned to Erza with a polite smile as she gestured to her to follow her.

"This way, my lady. I'll show you where your accommodations are." Nodding curtly, the red-haired woman followed the maid towards the door as the two exited the office. Zeref looked at the door for a second before he took a seat in his brown-leather chair as he stared through the window at the blue sky, deep in thought as a troubled smile adorned the man's face.

_"This could become interesting... Hopefully, Natsu won't mind this. Well, I was bored and Natsu seriously needs to loosen up. Maybe this woman can make that happen." _

* * *

After Erza was shown her room, the red-head decided to explore the place only to stumble on the great halls of the castle. The scarlet-head walked through the large halls of Castle Dragnologia with a face expressing slight admiration. Her eyes fell on the many paintings that were hanging on the walls, each on of them painted by the famous artist seigneur Sol. Out of all paintings, one stood out strikingly as it could be easily seen as the largest on. It was his most famous work, the Sona Misa, a portrait of a beautiful young woman with long, wavy, black hair and forest-green eyes filled with life and warmth, smiling serenely at the world. Erza stood still for a moment to admire the handy work as her eyes were scanning every detail of the expensive painting.

"That is Zera Dragnologia, Lord Zeref's grandmother."

The red-haired woman's ears caught the sound of a person talking to her as she glanced over her shoulder only to meet the eyes of a stunningly beautiful raven-haired woman staring at her who was leaning against the wall. Her hair was tied in a long pony-tail as it reached to her hips while she had a white ribbon in her hair with two bows on either sides of her head. The woman wore a black, V-collared shirt while her sleeves were rolled up to her elbows, black skin-tight jeans with a black belt holding it up with a crimson rose as a buckle and black low-heeled boots. A golden ring with a black gemstone was adorning the woman's left ring-finger and a golden bracelet her right wrist. But that wasn't all, no, what caught Erza's attention was the chest area as she sported a stunned look while looking at the black-haired woman's chest.

_"Damn, those are big; even bigger than mines..." _The red-head sweatdropped. She shook her head a couple of times before focusing herself on the woman again.

The black-haired woman pushed herself from the wall before approaching the red-head, her face having a mischievous smile on it.

"Soooo, you're the chick who's partnered with Natsu? Such a shame, I would've been a much better choice..." The raven-haired woman pouted, however, her eyes betrayed what she was really feeling as Erza raised her guard because of this woman. Giggling to herself, the woman waved her hand in front of her to calm Erza down, her smile increasing as she accomplished to put the girl at unease.

"Calm down, hon. If I wanted you dead, I wouldn't be talking to you right now. And I think Lord Zeref wouldn't like it if I just killed you off because of jealousy." She then stuck out her hand and offered it to Erza.

"The name's Ultear Milkovich, Ace of Spades and one of Zeref's trump cards." Trump cards? What did she meant by that? A sudden idea struck the red-head as she remembered what Zeref said moments ago. The black-haired man mentioned that Natsu was the so-called 'Ace of Hearts' and now this woman introduced herself as the 'Ace of Spades'. She probably is one of the four strongest assassins Zeref talked about.

The scarlet-head accepted her hand, albeit warily, before giving a firm shake. Ultear grinned at Erza before she released her hold on the red-haired woman's hand.

"You must be Erza Scarlet Knightwalker, heard about you when Lord Zeref asked the other four, well, three because Natsu wasn't there, to have a little meeting. You're quite renowned because of your craftiness and skills. It'll be fun having another promising woman around as the men here tend to have the ridiculous thought that they're better than us."

"To work with high-skilled people such as yourself, I'll look forward to it. But do keep in mind." The red-head flashed a challenging smirk at Ultear, who slightly raised an eyebrow as an amusing smile crept to her face."I'm the competitive type and I always love a good competition."

"Oh? Really now? A woman with spark, eh? That's how I like it. I"ll look forward to it too, then."

Both gave the other a nod as they could see the fire in each other's eyes, making them both grin in anticipation for what the future had for them. However, their little stare down was suddenly broken as an object was send flying towards Ultear's head with lightning-speed. The black-haired hitwoman ducked her head to the side before spinning around so she could face the person who threw said object.

"Well, well, getting acquainted with someone, Ultear?" The sound of a sweet voice echoed throughout the walls of Castle Dragnologia, making Ultear sigh in annoyance before quickly scowling afterwards.

"Show yourself, Mavis. I don't have time for your stupid games..."

"Awwww, you're no fun at all!"

Seconds after, a girl suddenly landed gracefully next to the dark-haired woman, pouting slightly in disappointment at Ultear's lack of playfulness. She had long, beautiful, curly blond hair with a red rose as a ribbon in her hair, light-green eyes and a face filled with childish innocence, in spite of her appearance which was that of an eighteen year old. Her body had all the right curves in the right place, making it hard to belief that she was known as the most childish assassin of the Order. A simple black sleeveless t-shirt with the words 'Touch them and your hands are forfeit' written on her chest was covering her small frame. She also wore a blue skirt that ended above her thighs and white sneakers finished her look.

Ultear looked down at the blonde-haired girl for a second, her face burning with a scrutinizing look as she gazed at Mavis, who was laughing nervously. The blonde-haired girl's eyes suddenly fell on the form of Erza as the blonde stared at her with confused eyes.

"..."

"Who the fuck are you?" The blonde-haired girl suddenly exclaimed, pointing her finger at Erza as she stared at the red-head with a bored face, making both Ultear and Erza sweatdrop as they lost their composure. The scarlet-haired woman was the first who regained her balance as she coughed in her fist.

"That's no way to talk, but anyway, I'm Erza. Erza Scarlet Knightwalker."

"I don't give a fuck who you are. What the hell's your business here..." The curly-haired blonde retorted darkly, scowling dangerously at the red-head, who once again sweatdropped.

_"Didn't she just ask who I was? Nevermind that, why is she so hostile towards me?" _

Ultear picked on Erza's train of thought. She smacked Mavis on the head, earning a shriek of pain before it was replaced by a shout of protest as the blonde-haired girl bore holes into Ultear's head.

"What was that for! That really hurt you know!" Mavis whined as she rubbed the back of her head, small tears forming around the edges of her eyes as she glanced at the raven-haired woman. Ultear closed her eyes as she shook her head disapprovingly at the blonde before opening them again.

"This woman is going to be a new member of this place. Also, she'll be Natsu's partner so show some respect, Mavis." Ultear scolded. Mavis' eyes widened in shock before she narrowed them as she looked at Ultear.

"Big brother's partner? Don't make me laugh; why the hell should he have a partner? He's arguable the best hitman the Order has to offer."

"It's Lord Zeref's decision and his word is law, you know that, don't you?"

Mavis narrowed her eyes again and looked defiantly at Ultear. The blonde eventually gave up, sighing in resignation and glanced at Erza for a moment before looking the other way.

"I'm sorry... Didn't know that you're big bro's partner." The blonde-haired girl whispered as she puffed her cheeks, her face sporting a childish, yet extremely cute, face.

Chuckling to herself, the red-head placed her hand on the younger girl's shoulder which made Mavis look at her through the corners of her eyes.

"Doesn't matter, I'm recently transmitted here so it's no surprise that you don't know me." The red-head said, offering a calm smile as she looked at the young blonde, who smiled back.

"So, I don't mind getting to know each other, but, could I ask you guys something?" Both the raven-haired as the blonde-haired nodded at Erza, telling her to continue.

"Well, since I'm going to be working with this man called Natsu, could the two of you fill me in about him? His document says hardly anything about him and I only know him through his reputation so..."

Mavis and Ultear were sporting different looks as the glanced at the scarlet-haired woman. While Mavis sported an indifferent look, not really caring if she gave away information about the pink-haired man she called her elder brother, the dark-haired woman however...

Ultear suddenly grabbed the red-head by her arm before dragging her off to a more... secluded place as a perverted smile crept its way on the black-haired beauty's face.

"What kind of information do you want? The information that you'll eventually gain by simply asking him or the more... private ones?" Erza was confused because of Ultear's sudden change as she looked at her awkwardly.

"Uhm, well, everything that is relevant?" Boy, was Erza in for some 'relevant' information about the rosy-haired hitman.

Ultear grinned joyfully as continued dragging the red-head away, already thinking of things to share with the woman who was lucky enough the be the world's most notorious, sadistic, cynical yet extremely hot hitman's partner.

* * *

"ACHOO!" The rosy-haired assassin suddenly sneezed out of the blue as he wiped his nose off with a tissue that he conveniently had inside his pocket. Natsu scratched the back of his head before looking at the night's sky with an annoyed look on his face.

"Someone's talking about me. If that melted popsicle or blond-haired fag are gossiping about me, I'll make sure they'll never open their mouths again without help from psychological professionals." You can interpret this however you want...

The pinkette led out a sigh as he finally made it to this bar of his old... friend, yeah, that's a good word to describe it.

Before the pink-haired stood the infamous bar **'Albarona's Drinking Barrel'**, home to Arcadia's most violent drinkers whom were all coming from the corners of the world just to taste the unique alcohol they served. It was a tall building standing between two smaller ones as it dominated the place within a radius of 100 metres. Two heavily built men were standing at the door entrance as a large row was slowly moving inside the place dressed in various kinds of clothes. Natsu walked forward right towards the entrance, heading to the guards who were standing there while Natsu was pushing away people from the row, earning him angry shouts of them. The pinkette eventually made it to the entrance as he eyed the two giants guarding the door like it was the gate of the underworld itself. They glanced at the rosy-haired man before they brushed him off, telling him to get back in line as every person. Shaking with his head, the pinkette rummaged through his inside pocket before taking out a card while showing it to the two giants blocking his way before giving it to them. The two guards were staring at the card with a dumb face before lifting their gaze at the pinkette.

"What the hell are we supposed to do with this, hm?" Natsu almost facepalmed himself because of their stupidity but managed to keep the urge at bay. He gestured in a circular move with his finger.

"Turn it around..." The guards did as they were told and flipped the card. A red Ace of Hearts was pictured on the back while a rose was depicted in the right corner of the card. Normally, it wouldn't mean anything to them as every fool could buy something like this and make people belief that it was something special. Were it not for the roaring head of a black dragon painted on the left side, the two guards would've teared it in half before giving it back. Their eyes widened like saucers as they stared at the mark of 'Acnologia Inc.', the multinational that actually financed this place. They returned their eyes on the smiling face of Natsu and quickly scrambled the door open for him

"We're very sorry for holding you up, sir. Please, enjoy your evening here..." One of them spoke in a respectful manner as he held the door open for the pinkette. Natsu replied with a curt nod before entering, already hearing the music blasting out of the boxers of the place, making a sweatdrop form on Natsu's head.

_"Is this a bar or a club, I wonder..." _

The rosy-haired man gathered his thoughts and continued walking through the place, taking note of all the people who were dancing on the floor like there was nothing to worry about. Putting them out of his mind, he spotted the stairs that were heading up and proceeded in that direction. Once on the second floor, Natsu's eyes scanned the place for brown or orange hair.

"ANOTHER ROUND, SWEETIE! THIS DILF WANT'S MOREEEEEE!"

_"Tsk, that old man never changes..." _Natsu thought while smiling nostalgically as he eyed the man.

The pink-haired man took a glance to his right and there sat the greatest womanizer of Earthland surrounded by all kinds of hot-looking women while taking a glass of green-colored liquid, bringing to his mouth before pouring it done his throat like water. Gildarts Clive.

The orange-haired man wore a dark-blue tuxedo with no tie and his first two buttons open, showing some 'man cleavage' and chest hair. His legs were covered with white trousers and his leather shoes were colored with a deep shade of brown.

Gildart sat with his arms flung around two blonde women, radiating with the 'P.I.M.P' aura like only he could. His cheeks were slightly pink, indicating that he was drunk or at least half-seas-over. Natsu approached the table where he was at, making himself known to the people who were sitting on the couch and standing around it.

"Tsk, still the old geezer who thinks he's God's gift to the world. How are you holding up, Gildarts?"

Gildarts lifted his face and glanced with an unintelligent look at Natsu as he hiccupped several times. The man suddenly narrowed his eyes as he spotted the color pink on the man's head who was talking to him. His eyes slowly widened as a grin spread around the face of the orange-haired man. He abruptly stood up and flung the table away before bringing Natsu into a bear hug, making the eyes of the pinkette almost bulge out of their sockets with the affectionate gesture.

"NAT-hiccup-SU MY BOY, HO-hiccup-W ARE YOU DOI-hiccup-NG!"

_"Yep, still same old Gildarts."_

Once out of the embrace, the pinkette took a seat next to the man he called a friend, who he knew since he initially stepped into the business of the underworld. Natsu flashed a toothy grin at Gildarts who did the same as they had their arms around each others shoulders. The orange-haired man glanced to a bar-girl and whistled to her to come to him.

"BR-hiccup-ING US SOME MORE DRI-hiccup-NKS, I HAVE THE RETURN OF A -hiccup- GOOD FRIEND TO CELE-hiccup-BRITE!"

"No you're not, old geezer. You've had enough alcohol for today! Seriously, you'll ruin me if you keep up drinking so much..."

Both the pink-haired man and orange-haired man looked to the left as they heard a new, feminine voice join in. It was a woman with long, smooth dark-brown hair that fell down to her waist with chocolate-brown eyes. Wearing a tight-fitting, black-leather cocktail dress that ended to above her knees, black gloves which were up to her elbows and black high-heels, the woman glared murderously at Gildarts who just flashed a cheeky smile at her, making the pink on his bearded cheeks more pronounced.

"AH, C-hiccup-ANA, HOWS MY FAVO-hiccup-RITE DAUGHT-hiccup-ER DOING~" Cana Alberona, the owner of the bar/club **'Alberona's Drinking Barrel'**, scoffed at her father, crossing her arms over her tanned chest as she frowned at the orange-haired man. The woman tilted her head slightly to her right and her eyes widened at what she saw. Rose-colored hair.

Cana's eyes drifted lower and they stared deep into the jet-black orb of Natsu, who smiled sadly at the woman standing in front of him.

"It's been awhile since we saw each other, no, Cana?"

* * *

_***counting with his fingers* Okay, let's see, I got 3 reviews for my prologue... I have two thoughts about this.**_

_**On one side, fine, yes, it was short, and 3 reviews (From serious reviewers, thank you guys) is actually quite much for a type of story like this. **_

_**On the other side, I'm a bit disappointed... But that's probably because I'm a bitch when it comes to reviews. Hell, I enjoyed writing this and hell if I ever give up! *slams fist on his chest* You know, I need some more people to give me their thoughts about this. If only I enjoyed this then I might as well just type this on Microsoft Word just for myself, never giving it the chance to see the light of day, so...**_

_**Okay, I've decided a slightly different approach for Knightwalker... I'm gonna merge both Scarlet and Knightwalker's personality into one person, Erza Scarlet Knightwalker, BAM! Does that sound good? Damn right it does! Now, DragWalker... That sounds so good, don't you fellas think too? Helluvah lot better than MystWalker, seriously, only because JerZa's *gags* becoming canon, people tend to pair their EdoVersions too... Dahell? Meh, I actually don't care, but still...**_

_**Not much to say actually so after that other then...**_

_**Thanks for reading and don't forget to review!**_

_**Your humble serpent.**_

_**Fafnir hissing out.**_


	3. Chapter 3

**_Not much to say..._**

* * *

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does. I do own the idea and concept of this story._**

* * *

_**Chapter 3: An explanation.**_

Natsu let the droplets fall on his muscular tanned body as his hands were washing his spiky rose-colored hair. The man had his left-eye closed and let the water pour on his face, making it wash away the stress that he was currently feeling. The man lowered his face and opened his eye, a glint of nostalgia in it as he eyed the ground. Not too long ago, he came face to face with a person he rather didn't want to see. Not that he had any ill feelings for said person, oh no, it was quite the opposite. He still cared for her, but the same couldn't be said for her.

"She still hates me for it, but who could blame her? I practically left her two days before _that_. No sane woman would've liked that..." Natsu muttered to no one in particular as he stood leaning against the cold wall with crossed arms, wondering.

The pinkette shook his head before grabbing a bottle that stood on a nearby rack. He eyed the glass object for a moment with his onyx-black eye.

Absinthe it read.

It made the pinkette chuckle a bit. Each room he entered, a bottle or glass of alcohol would be already present. No complains, if you'd ask him.

_"Just what I need, a strong drink to forget about my damn past, even if it's just for a moment..." _The rosy-haired man thought as he opened the bottle before taking a long sip. A strong burning sensation was coursing through his throat, making him cough a bit because of how intense absinthe was. Natsu forget how strong this alcohol was as only the more experienced drinkers were letting this through their throat due to various reasons; divorce, affairs, death of a loved one and that sort of reasons. Natsu had somewhat similar reasons and it only motivated him further to drink it. His mind wandered somewhere else as it remembered that happened a couple of hours ago.

* * *

**Flashback**

_2 hours ago..._

_"It's been awhile since we saw each other, no, Cana?" Natsu said with a hint of nostalgia in his voice as he glanced at the brown-haired woman with an honest, distant smile. Said woman was looking with shocked eyes at him before her face morphed into a scowl. _

_"What the hell are **you**_ _doing here?" The woman growled, making t__he pinkette flinch under the icy tone the woman was giving him. He breathe out a sad sigh as he removed his arm from Gildarts' shoulder and placed his hands on his knees, his left-eye staring at the ground. Natsu didn't want to look in the brunette's eyes because he knew what he would find in those once warm and loving chocolate-colored eyes._

_ Hurt and anger. _

_"I see that you still think that I'm the biggest asshole who's currently walking the planet." _

_"Damn right you are! " Cana remarked venomously, her scowl now changed into a hateful glare. The brunette's brown orbs were burning holes in the skull of the rosy-haired hitman and he knew that. He didn't have the courage to look in the eyes of woman as he feared that all those regrets and self-loathing would wash over him like a flood and Natsu couldn't use that right now. _

_Cana's eyes still held the hurtful glint in her eyes, but she slightly softened her glare into a frown and crossed her arms. _

_"What do you want, Natsu?" The mentioned man raised his head, but still didn't look at Cana, making the woman frown deeper. He thought for a moment as how to come up with the right words without sounding like a careless ass. He had to choose his words carefully, or else a lot of suffering would be felt on his part. After coming up with what he wanted to say, he finally decided to look Cana in the eyes, his face sporting a serious expression. _

_"I'm here on a job and I'm quite unknown with the place. I was wondering if you could offer me a place to say for the night..." _

_The brunette cocked an eyebrow at the request. She turned around and looked over her shoulder at the pinkette. Her eyes were as still cold as stone and it made him feel uncomfortable. From the outside, it seemed Natsu was unaffected by it as he sat impassively on the couch with a knocked out Gildarts resting his head on the man's shoulder, drool falling down the orange-haired man's mouth. On the inside, though, he could feel those ice-cold eyes freeze his very core, making him experience a chill that he only felt a few times. Were it not for the orange-haired man sleeping soundless, the tension would've been considered as 'serious'. _

_After what felt like hours, the brunette answered in a tone that made Natsu cringe. _

_"What makes you think that I can even stand_ _you? There are other places where you could stay, not necessarily here..." _

_Natsu's glanced at her for a moment, his eye widened in surprise before they returned to its normal size. Natsu sighed in dejection before standing up and walking to the stairs. He half expected such an answer and he already prepared himself for it. With all the things he put her through, he was even surprised that Cana didn't kick him out the moment she saw him sitting next to her drunk tard of a father. _

_Before descending the stairs, Natsu cast one final look at the brunette who now faced him with her body, her face still plastered with an intense frown. He sighed one more time while his hand went through his wild messy hair._

_"I'm sorry for what I've put you through and I know that it's a bit too late for apologies. I was careless and I didn't think straight. Not many things in my life I regret, but is an exception __." The pinkette confessed, his left-eye looking downwards to all the people who were dancing on the floor with drinks in their hands, singing along what was currently playing. It reminded Natsu when he did those kind of things before he became what he was now. _

_The rosy-haired man rubbed the bridge of his nose in exhaustion, not really wanting to delve into the past and it didn't help him that the music was starting to give him a headache too. He glanced over his shoulder at Cana and smiled honestly at her._

_"If you don't want me around, I can understand that. It was nice seeing again, Cana, really. Whether you want to believe it or not, I regret the way I parted. I think... I'll see you around." With those words, the pink-haired hitman walked down the stairs calmly, leaving a drunk Gildarts and a conflicted Cana. _

"She hasn't changed, after all those years..." Natsu chuckled as he thought what happened afterwards. He rubbed the back of his head, remembering where the brown-haired woman hit him with an iron object.

_As Natsu was walking down the stairs, Cana was thinking about him and the emotions that were coming to surface as she reminisced her past with him. The chocolate-haired woman had mixed feelings because of his sudden appearance. First, a rush of anger went through her when her brown eyes fell on the form of the pink-haired bastard who disappeared two years ago without giving so much as a good-bye. Before he vanished, they were dating for almost a year and their anniversary was just one day before all that happened. _

_Cana, completely oblivious who Natsu really was, decided to date the guy after they met in a bar outside New Magnolia City. She just went through another shattered relationship and she resorted in the very thing she did every time that happened, only this time with more... stronger alcohol. Because of the constant nagging of her friends, she decided to visit her favorite bar and drink her sorrows away there instead of listening to those idiots she called friends. _

_That's when she met the guy. _

_At first, she wasn't even paying attention to the man. The pinkette sat next to her and ordered the strongest bottle of alcohol the bar had. Unfortunately for him, it was sold out. Who bought the last bottle? Cana herself..._

_Snorting amusingly, the guy challenged her to a drinking contest and the winner would have that bottle of liquor as the price. For a moment, the brunette looked at the guy as if he grew another head and the bar went silent for a moment before it bursted out in laughter The brunette was legendary here for being the only woman who could hold her liquor against the strongest type of alcohol. This stranger thought he could beat her in her own game? No way in hell..._

_Confidence and pride took the better of her and she accepted it, thinking that this man would be knocked out after a few shots. Oh she was wrong. So, so wrong... _

_After twenty shots, the guy still grinned like a fool. Cana had to admit, she was not slightly tipsy, not even very tipsy. Nope, she was just plain drunk. Still, she wanted to continue their little game, completely disregarding the fact that she could end up in the hospital because of alcohol poison. The rose-haired man noticed how drunk Cana was and decided to call it a night for her, to which she heavily protested to, claiming that she could beat him. _

_Seconds after those words left her mouth, she lost her conscious and was about to hit the floor if it wasn't for the pinkette, who caught her in his arms. Natsu, knowing that he himself was drunk too, rented two rooms upstairs. He didn't want to take the chance of driving this girl home and fly off a cliff in the process because of his drunken state. The pinkette brought Cana to her assigned room and was about to leave... were it for a hand which grabbed the guy by the wrist before roughly yanking him on the bed. On top of the rose-haired man was a brown-haired drunk girl glaring daggers at his face. _

_"You... Nobody beats me in a drinking contest and walks away with it. Let's see if you're a challenge in bed too... First who gets tired loses." Bacchus would've gone WILD upon hearing that if he was there. _

_After that, they both woke up in each other's arms as naked as the day they were born._

_That's when Natsu and Cana exchanged phone numbers. They saw each other more often and hang out more. One thing let to another and before they knew it the both of them started dating each other. _

_As Cana thought about it, it did a small smile to the brunette's face as she remembered their first date. Her smile soon faded as quickly as it came as she shook __her head, wanting to forget the memory. The brown-haired bar owner was about to walk away, but she suddenly heard a groan coming from the couch. Cana's dark-brown eyes fell on her father's form, who clutched his head tightly while having a pained expression featuring his face. Gildarts glanced at his daughter with a knowing look. _

_"You know, dear, you never heard his side of the story..." _

_The chocolate-haired woman noticed her father's lack of playfulness. The brunette glanced at her father with a deadpanned face._

_"Of course I don't know it, I haven't spoken to that pink-haired prick for two years." _

_Chuckling amusingly, Gildarts stood up on his legs before quickly grabbing the side of his head, groaning again because of his throbbing headache. Cana let out a laugh at her father's expense, making the orange-haired man smile at her before turning serious again._

_"Just go to the bastard. If you want to move on then at least clear things out with him. I haven't shot the pink-haired fucker yet because I know he's a good kid deep down." _

_Sighing, Cana nodded with a sour look on her face. She still didn't want to see Natsu, but she guessed that her soft side influenced her decision. The brunette glanced at the orange-head and gave a small 'hmph' before walking towards the banister. Her eyes scanned the dance floor in search for pink hair, almost blocking out the other colors with her senses as she concentrated. Her brown eyes eventually fell on the spiky pink locks of Natsu who was pushing his way through the dancing mass. _

_Rummaging through her purse that she had with her, she fished out a set of keys before looking back at the pinkette. Swinging the ring of keys a couple of times around her finger, Cana aimed the iron object at her target. _

_The back of Natsu's head. _

_With a __swing, the brunette threw the key set towards the unsuspecting adolescent, hitting him in the back of his head._

_The pinkette was glancing around himself with a glare plastered on his face, trying to discern who just threw something hard against his head. The man noticed Cana looking at him with an amused smirk on her face before her expression turned neutral again as she pointed downwards with her finger. Raising an eyebrow, the pinkette looked down in curiosity. He noticed something shimmering on the ground. Natsu's eyes soon widened as he picked up the thing that hit him at the back of his head and recognized it as a set of keys. _

_The rosy-haired gun user turned his head towards the second level and noticed Cana pointing somewhere towards his right. Natsu's gaze turned right and he noticed a sign reading 'rooms upstairs'..._

* * *

The pinkette exited the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and with another one he was drying his hair. Natsu wandered towards the bedroom and quickly grabbed his clothes that he left there. After he properly dressed himself into a simple black tank and black shorts, he plopped himself on the couch. The pinkette gave a sigh in content as he felt relaxed after a good shower. Natsu started to search for the remote and soon found it on a nearby table.

The pink-haired man took the remote and turned on the TV, browsing through the channels and trying to find something interesting. His eyes soon fell on a Fiore anime serie called _A Ghost's Conviction_. The pinkette raised an eyebrow at the strange name but brushed it off as he continued watching, finding it rich when the guy known as Dauwz called the other named Midnight an 'emo-goth-batshit-crazy-freak'. Giant mechs and lots of blood and fighting? Natsu's type of anime...

"Only in Fiore you'll find this kind of shit... Who the hell calls his characters Dauwz or Midnight anyway?"

Natsu suddenly heard a knock, making him look away from the screen and glance at the door with an annoyed expression. He got up from the couch before getting the door. Who he expected certainly wasn't the person that was currently standing in front of him.

"...Cana?"

Holding a bottle of wine in one hand and two glasses in the other, she looked at him with an apathetic face. She was dressed in nothing but a black top, showing off her assets and white shorts that ended above her thighs. She sure wasn't afraid in showing off her feminine charms...

"Mind if I come in?"

"Uhmm, no, I guess..." Natsu replied awkwardly as he stepped aside so Cana could enter the room. The brunette stepped inside at glanced around for a moment. Her brown eyes fell on the TV and the current show that was playing. She glanced behind her shoulder and smirked condescendingly at the pinkette.

"Didn't know you were this childish."

The pinkette snorted, irked at the woman's hostility but he kept his mouth about it.

"I'm not, I was just bored so I turned on the TV and looked for something entertaining."

Nodding, the brown-haired woman sat down on the couch while placing her bottle on the table next to it. She looked at the rosy-haired man for a second before patting the spot next to her on the sofa. Natsu complied and took a seat next to her while grabbing the remote and turning off the TV. The two of them soon fell in an uncomfortable silence as they both looked to the opposite site from each other.

_"What is she doing here? I thought she wanted to avoid me, yet here she is, dressed for a good rumble under the-"_

"You're gonna explain something to me, Natsu." The pinkette was brought back to the world when he heard the brown-haired bar owner. Natsu glanced to his side and locked eyes with Cana, who glanced at her left at the same moment.

"Sure. What do you want to know..."

"Why did you leave..."

"..."

Natsu looked back to the ground and had a mental argument with himself as he pondered about whether answer the woman or not. It didn't take long before he realized that he owed her a proper explanation about how things turned out between them. Having made his decision, the guy stood up and walked towards the window, looking outside at the dark-blue, almost black, night's sky with a strange smile on his face.

"Before I get to that, I think it's better to tell who I really am."

* * *

"I think I know too much about this guy called Natsu Dragneel..." Erza mumbled to herself as she walked through the halls of Zeref's castle. The redhead had a slight blush and a permanent frown on her face. Her high-heeled boots clicked on the marble floor as she strolled around the castle, searching for a place where they served some drinks.

After having a rather... colorful talk about how... energetic her future partner in crime was, the scarlet-haired woman decided to search for a drink. Never in her life did she heard such perverted words coming out of a woman. Ultear was a unique woman and she showed it the way she used her choice of words to describe things...

"Seriously, that woman could give Minerva a run for her money when it comes to... never mind." The red-haired woman sighed as she turned a corner. For the umpteenth time...

Erza was pretty sure that she got lost, but she didn't want to bother herself in asking directions. Who ask directions? Just go with the flow, she always exclaimed. The scarlet-haired assassin soon came to a stop when she spotted hall which was filled with various kinds of armor. Intrigued, the woman approached the hall. What she found there made her eyes widen in awe.

The corridor was filled exotic armors: from traditional samurai armor from Joya to the legendary armor known as the Thunder Dragon, which was worn by King Laxus XI, who ruled nearly 342 years ago when Fiore was still a kingdom. It was a glistening piece of golden armor with the heads of lions as shoulder plates. Their jaws were wide open, enough the fit a full-grown man's fist in it. The body-armor was made of pristine gold orichalcum, a metal that was said to be nearly indestructible yet very light and flexible. The flag of the former kingdom, the head of the yellow dragon resting on top of a black rose, was painted on the red mantle of the armor and in front of the golden colored cuirass. The vambraces were also shimmering with the same gold and the fingers of the armored gloves were pointy and sharp. Up to the knees the greaves reached while they ended to the ankles. Metal-plate boots which reached to the ankles protected the wearer's feet, the nose of them sharp. All the skin that was unprotected by armor was covered by golden mail. To finish the set of armor, a bright shining helmet, that was formed like a dragon's head with its maws open and two curved horns on either sides of the helmet was lying next to the armor on a shelve.

"...Er-chan?"

Hearing her name being called out by a familiar voice, especially the nickname that only one person used, the scarlet-haired woman instantly turned her head around and noticed a woman standing not too far from her, gazing at her with surprise-filled eyes.

The woman, whose caramel-colored hair reached till her ears and was stylized in a bob-haircut and whose features strangely looked like that of a cat, was dressed in a white female dress suit and a white skirt that ended above her knees with a blue tie around her neck with a silver clip in it, black sunglasses and her feet were sporting six inch red heels. She held a suitcase in one hand while her other hand was clutching her phone.

"Millianna? Is that you, Millianna?"

"Oh my God, it's really you, Er-chan!" The woman ran up to the redhead, dropping her suitcase before embracing Erza in a tight hug, a very tight hug...

Struggling with her breathing, but remaining calm on the outside, the redhead patted the white dressed woman known as Millianna on the back a couple of times. She was a little annoyed because of the affectionate gesture, but also happy.

"It's... not... that... I'm not... glad... to see you, but... could you relax your... hold around me?"

Noticing her mistake, Millianna soon lessened her hold on Erza, making the scarlet-head able to breath better.

"Sorry, but it's been awhile since we've seen each other. What are you doing here in Castle Dragnologia, anyway?"

"I got transferred here, orders from Zeref himself."

The brunette muttered a low 'ah', her face briefly frowning. Her features soon changed into a smile again as she took off her glasses and folded them before placing it between the front of her collar.

"I could ask you the same thing. What are _you_ doing here?" The red-haired assassin asked with an expecting look as she crossed her arms, waiting for the caramel brown-haired woman to answer. Millianna smiled smugly as she took out her glasses again before putting them on.

"I'm Zeref's personal lawyer. Though the man has an entire army of them, I handle his financial business with Acnologia Inc. Whenever someone impeaches the company, he sends me out to chew the guy or woman out for being stupid enough to pick a fight with Zeref." Millianna started to wave her hand in front of her face."You know, let's take this outside, it's kinda hot in here and some fresh air will do us good."

Erza nodded, making the brunette smile before gesturing to the scarlet-head to walk with her outside.

* * *

"So... What brings you to the Apocalypse Order's HQ, Er-chan?" The brunette asked while sipping on her cup of coffee. The two of them sat at one of tables that were located outside on a open roof level of the castle. The castle conveniently had a cafe and so the two decided to get a drink there.

"Like I said before, I got transferred here." The redhead replied as she glanced at the brown-haired lawyer.

"Yes, you did said that, but not why?"

The scarlet-haired assassin sighed for a moment as she placed her strawberry-flavored glass of wine on the table.

"I'm here, because Zeref wants me to be partnered to someone. I think he got a important job in mind and he wants me and the guy on it."

"Millianna cocked her eyebrow quizzically. Did Erza said partner? This girl doesn't do partners...

"You? Having a partner? Did you tell-"

"Yes, I did. Still, the guy wants it and his word is law... I think."

"And who's gonna be the partner of the renowned _Blood Knife of Magnolia_?" Millianna answered in a teasing tone, leaning slightly forward as she rested her elbow on the table while placing her chin on her hand. Erza huffed, annoyed at the woman's antics, but didn't react on it as she folded her arms. _  
_

"Zeref told me his name was Natsu Dragneel..."

Millianna blinked, then again, and again until her eyes widened in shock. The brunette stared intently at the redhead... before bursting out in laughter.

"So-rry, I think I he-ard you wrong. I though you said Natsu Dragneel, eheheh...?" Seeing the frowning look of the scarlet-head, the woman started laughing nervously.

"Surely, you're joking, right? Right...?"

The red-haired woman shook her head slowly, her face dead serious about the matter. She grasped her wine glass and took a sip of it, savoring the taste of strawberries as she drank the beverage.

"Then you'll have a hard time, girl..."

Choking in her drink, the redhead coughed a bit. She placed her glass down and glared intensely at the woman who sat across of her, who didn't seemed bother by the hostile look.

"Where are you getting at, Millianna. Me? Having a hard time?" The scarlet-haired growled and Millianna merely gave a nod.

"That's right. You see, Er-chan, Natsu Dragneel is quite... an interesting guy. It doesn't help that he's one of the four Aces of Zeref, too."

There it was again, that whole Ace-concept the redhead noticed.

"Aside from our main topic, what does it mean to be an Ace?" The scarlet-haired woman asked, curious about what this system meant. The brunette quirked her eyebrow.

"You don't know about the {Deck of 52} System?" The redhead shook her head again. Erza was getting tired of not knowing things like this. These were important information and Zeref apparently didn't want to bother himself in explaining it to her.

Lazy Sonuvvabitch.

The brunette grabbed her grey suitcase and placed it on the table. She opened it and took out a sheet of paper and a pencil before closing her case and placing it back on the ground. Millianna started to draw fifty-two squares on her sheet of paper, each one sported a symbol.

"The {Deck of 52} System is a system based on cards, obviously. Though Acnologia Inc. has also illegal departments like drug trafficking, prostitution and money laundering, the Apocalypse Order is a special branch within the corporation. It busies itself with assassination." Millianna then shoved the sheet to Erza's sight so she could have a look at it. "Each 'color' specializes itself in a way of assassination, but they're also associated with one another." The brunette first pointed at the spades with her finger."Spades are specialized in poison. They're responsible for developing the most deadliest poisons that could kill an elephant within ten seconds." Millianna then pointed at the Diamonds. "These S.O.B's are in charge of weapons and development/construction of new weapons. From the tiniest gun that could fit inside your sleeve to sniper-rifles, there isn't a thing that they can't make." Then her finger fell on the Clubs. "These guys are responsible for martial-arts training. They'll teach you how to kill a full-grown human with only punching a few nerve points." Lastly, her finger fell on the Hearts." These guys... well, what should I say? Ever heard of Project-Vermilion?"

Erza shook her head for the umpteenth time, making the brunette frown in annoyance at Erza's lack of being informed.

"Sheesh, Erza, what _did _they tell you when you were in Magnolia. It looks like you're completely ignorant about how things here in Crocus are handled." Millianna said, the amount of exasperation thick in her voice.

"Whatever, just tell me what this so-called Project-Vermilion means."

Millianna nodded before continuing her story."You see, 20 years ago, there was a man called Igneel Dragneel, Acnologia Inc's most prestigious scientist. The man developed things that are now the reasons why the Apocalypse Order is known as the most fearsome organization of the world. His greatest work was Project-Vermilion, a project based on how to create Modified-Humans, people who are capable of feats beyond imagination. Though the man was probably the most brilliant man of his time, he couldn't finish his project. Why? All his test-subjects died because they couldn't handle the operation. His works ultimately started to fall to crumbles. You see, in order to survive his project, one had to have a special type of blood-cells and genes. Igneel searched for decades for the right person who he could test on, but to no avail. That is, until he became desperate and experimented on _him_..."

The redhead looked at Millianna intently, wanting to know who this guy was.

"And who might be the unlucky one?"

The brunette smiled darkly at Erza, making the woman shiver a bit. Millianna let out a small chuckle as she had her hand before her mouth.

"Who, you ask? It's none other than your future partner himself."

Erza's eyes widened in shock, backing a bit away as she glanced at her friend.

"You don't mean..."

"Ah, yes I do. Igneel Dragneel experimented on his own son... Natsu Dragneel..."

* * *

**_ Does Igneel come over like a dark person to you guys? *laughs madly* He sure does to me... Does he has a reason to? Who knows... Sometimes, when characters are OOC, then it becomes, you know, interesting... *laughs madly, again*_**

**_Another thing, just because Natsu has... contact with more than one woman doesn't immediately mean it's a harem fic, right? *shrugs*_**

**_As for any mistakes you guys see... Excuse me, but I'm seriously tired and can't find the energy right now to check my grammar, sorry if it's going to bother you... I'll correct anything when I have some strength again._**

**_Okay, well, let's summarize this. I'm dead-beat, exams start on Monday and I still have a lot to do. Consider this my last chapter before I'll disappear from the face of the Earth for awhile. _**

**_Till next time guys!_**

**_Fafnir hissing out_**

**_Second note: Noticed some stupid mistakes on my part and I couldn't resist correcting them. Sorry, I know it comes over a bit unprofessional, but meh, I did nonetheless. _**


End file.
